In today's onroad passenger vehicles, windshields are nearly universal. The windshield deflects the wind out of the passenger compartment, and commonly seals on the bottom, sides and top of the windshield, thereby allowing a largely sealed passenger compartment. Such windshields are not intended to be optional or removeable by the vehicle owner. If the windshield is damaged, a professional windshield replacement industry exists to glue and seal a replacement windshield into place in the onroad passenger vehicle using professional windshield replacement equipment.
The situation is quite different for offroad vehicles, such as utility vehicles (“UVs”) and all terrain vehicles (“ATVs”), including vehicles referred to as “side-by-sides”. UVs and ATVs are intended to enable the driver and any passenger to enjoy to surrounding environment much more than possible in an onroad passenger vehicle. While some of these vehicles have no protective structure and are more open-air like motorcycles or scooters, many UVs and ATVs provide a roll cage or rollover protection system. In the UV and ATV market, the windshield may be an optional accessory for use with a permanent or semi-permanent roll cage. When desired, the windshield still provides significant wind deflection for the comfort and vision of the driver and any passenger, and also provides a significant safety feature of protecting the driver and any passenger from branches and/or airborne rocks thrown from another vehicle being followed. The windshield may also provide protection from precipitation or splattered mud.
However, many owners of UVs and ATVs, particularly those driving alone in non-wooded locations or on maintained trails, may have little desire to be enclosed behind a windshield. For those who do desire a windshield, often the windshield is subjected to much harsher conditions than seen by onroad passenger vehicles, making damage and replacement much more frequent. Accordingly, instead of gluing and sealing the windshield into place in a largely permanent manner using professional tools and equipment, UVs and ATVs may have a windshield which is readily removable and replaceable by the vehicle owner, without requiring professional windshield-replacement tools.
For example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,997,908 incorporated by reference, retention clips may be used to secure the top and bottom of a front windshield to a roll cage. The retention clips of U.S. Pat. No. 8,997,908 attach to the roll cage with conventional fasteners such as bolts. When the windshield is removed, either the retention clip is left on the roll cage and is itself unsightly, or a bolt hole is exposed on the roll cage. Alternatively as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,663,158 9,475,363 and 9,776,481, all incorporated by reference, a clamping system may be used to secure the sides of a front windshield to a roll cage. The clamping systems of U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,663,158 9,475,363 and 9,776,481 are more expensive and more cumbersome than necessary, and interfere with the possibility of using doors which seal to the roll cage with and without the windshield. Better methods and structures for removably attaching a windshield to a roll cage of a UV or ATV are needed.